Friction shock-absorbing mechanism



Patented May l, i923; v. y l

.entre erin.

.Tomi` F. oooNNoR, or cnroneditnrnors, Assienoa ToWILLIAM H. Minna, orv

onAzY,NnwYoRx.. Y v rnro'rion sHooK-ABsoarne ivrnoxninrsM.v

Application-lcdJuly 11, 1921. Serial No. 483,668.

VTo all whom' it may concern.' inoperative position by adetachable saddlek e it inioi'vnthatl I, JOHNF. OCoNNon, a plate 17. 55 citizen of theY United States, residing at v'[`he'-1mp1.oved shock absorbing mechanism Chicago7 inthe county of Cook and State of proper, as shown7 comprises, broadly, a vcom -r 5 Illinois, have invented a certain new and bined Vfriction shell and springcage casting useful linpr'ovementin Friction Sho'e'k-Ab- A; twinarranged main spring resistances sorbing Mechanisms, of which the following -B a spring follower C'; a vsecond spring 60 is a full, clear, concise, and exact c lescrip'-A follower D; friction shoes E-E;a wedge F; tion7 reference being had to the: accompanyanti-friction rollers Gre-G; a retainer bolt P 10 ing dra-Wings, forming a part of' this speci- H; a spring VWasher 'J and aspring fK'. ication. y .The casting lA is formed' at itsffront or This invention relates tti-improvements in outer end with a cylindrical vfriction shell 65 friction shock absorbing mechanisms. proper 18` and rearwardly thereof with an One object of the invention is to provide a integral rectangular spring cage" proper 19, friction shock absorbing mechanism espe the latter havingitop' and bottom parallel cially adapted for railway dra-ft rig-gings Walls and an integral rear vertical Wall Q0, wherein are obtained an efficient operation the latter fiinctioningastherear follower of 70 and economical construction,t'heparts'being -the mechanism. .The-sides ofthe spring so arranged as to 'provide afpreliminar'y cage are open to permit insertion andV 're- 2o spring friction action,automaticallychangmoval of the springiollowers C and D and ing to the fullspringfriction action. the spring resistances B- B,`in"a vve'll known A more specificy object' of the invention is manner. f y v l 75 to provide a friction shock absorbing mecha- Each vof the spring resistancesl B is of Well nism having main. springresist-ancev with lmoi'vn form and,` alscristo'rnz'iry';A comprises means interposed between vthe spring lrean outer heavy ooil 2l' 'and' anf innerilighter sist'ancel and the frictionv elements so arnested (101122: Tlie'reafrenclslof'said"coils ranged that "a 'part` of the `main spring 21 and -22 b ea'r against Wall 2 0."V The 80 resistance is' employed during preliminary forward ends of the 'enter heavy coils 21 spring frictionV action and ultimately the bear against theV spring follower 'C and the 30 entire" sprinfrr'resistfance employed for ,obforward ends of the innerl-ighter conse? taining ,the- Viull capacity; f 'bear against theother spring :follower D, as @then-objects of' the invention Will more shown in Fig. l. 7.1' i l clearlyV appear from* the description and The spring kfollower C, lshown `best in F ig. claims appearing hereinafter. 3,preferably consistslof asnbstanti'ally rec- In the drawing forming' a part of this tangular plateQB and aforwardly extended l specification, Figure l -is a horizontal longihollovvboss Q4; The latter isslotted as inditudinal sectional view of a portion of a railcated at 25 so as to permit the insertion'of 90 way ydraft rigging `showin, `gf ymy improvethe head of the bolt H therevvithinand hold ments in connection therewith. Fig. 2 is a it Within the boss as clearly shovvn in=l* `ig.v

40 vertical transverse sectional `view corre- The outer edges of'saidfllower C nor.

spondingjsnbstantially to the line of mally engage against shoulders 26-26 pro- Fig.` l and Fig. 3 is detail perspective of vided on thesides of the casting-AasV shown 95 one of the springfollowers.` u in Fig. l. I

In' said drawing'f 10-l0. denote channel The other spring vfollower Diconsistslof a draft sills of a railway car underframe to plate-like 'section 27 having'rounded ends the inner faces' of which arev secured front and' parallel top and bottom edges ofthe stop lugs 1I and rearstop lugs l2. The inoutlinebest shown in Figifl. L On its rearfor 100 ner' poi-tion of a `draw* barisindicated' at 13, inner side, said' follower D" is form-ed With a the same beingA operatively associa-ted with pair of integral rearwardly. extended annutheshock absorbing mechanism proper by' lar lugs or bosses 28%28 alined with and a hooded cast yoke 14 and couplerkey l5', engaging the forward ends ofthe inner coils The yoke", shock absorbingVv mechanism 2242/2.y Saidbosses-28` Workthrough snit- 10;,

proper and i-iont'fo'llower are supported ablel openings 29%29 -prov'iclediin Vtlieiol lower C. The follower' D normally engages against shoulders Silformed at the in ner end of the cylindrical shell proper 18, it being observed that said shoulders 30 are located forwardly of the shoulders 26 so as v to leave a space between the followers C Ill and D as indicated at 3l, this space preferably approximating one-half inch in actual service. lVith this construction it is evident that there is approximately a half inch relative movement allowed between the followers C and D, The follower D is centrally apertured as indicated at 32 to allow the boss 24 of the follower C to extend therethrough.

The friction shoes E are preferably three iu number arranged in a circular series in a well-known manner. The wedge F is of well known triangular form, the wedge F and shoes E having` opposed wedge roller seats with the anti-friction rollers G interposed therebetween as customary in the Miner type of friction mechanism. v

The front end of the retainer bolt H is anchored by the nut thereon within a suitable pocket formed in the wedge F.

The washer 'l is seated within the shoes E and bears against inwardly extended shoulders formed integrally with the shoes E as customary, and the' light spring K is interposed between said washer J and the follower D. Said light spring K is under initial. compression and is adapted to maintain all of the friction elements taut and to compensate for wear on the friction elements by gradual expansion, it being understood that this is extremely small in actual practice. Normally a very slight appearance as indicated at 33 will be left between the inner ends of the shoes E and the follower D, said clearanceapproximating preferably one-eighth of an inch and is left to insure the proper functioning of the spring K.

The operation is as follows. assuming an inward or bufling movement of the draw bar. As thedraw bar and follower 16 move inwardly, the friction elements are pushed simultaneously in the same direction. For the first approximate one-eighth inch movement, the spring K will be compressed until the inner ends of the shoes E engage the follower D. For the next approximate onehalf inch of the compression stroke, the shoes E will be resisted by only the inner lighter coils 2O which react through the follower D. After said one-half inch of the compression stroke, the overlapping parts of the followers D and C come into Contact and thereafter both of said spring followers move simultaneously so that the full spring resistance of all of the coils is obtained to the movement 0f the friction elements. The release action will be understood by those skilled in the art without detailed description.

lVith my improved construction above described, it is evident that I am enabled to obtain a preliminary spring friction action of sufficient capacity to take care of the small or minor shocks which comprise the greater proportion of the shocks encountered in actual service conditions. This result is obtained without the introduction of any special preliminary springs and by using a part of the main springs. This is of advantage for the reason that the inner coils employed during the preliminary action are not subjected to full compression or to their full capacity and hence there is no danger of excessive compression on the preliminary springs. Furthermore, the result is obtained without requiring any greater space occupied by the parts than has been customary heretofore in mechanisms of the type disclosed in the drawing. The change from the preliminary spring friction action to the full spring friction action is obtained automatically and the capacities .of the inner and outer coils may be so designed that the change from the preliminary to the: full action will not represent any abrupt or eX- cessive sudden change in capacity of the mechanism.

I have herein shown and described what I now consider the preferred manner of carrying out the invention,vbut the same is merely illustrative and I contemplate all changes and modifications that-come within the scope of the claims appended hereto. I claim: l

Il. In a friction shock absorbing mechanisin, the combination with a friction shell of wedge friction elements cooperable with the shell; a mainfspringresistance including nested inner and outer coilsaand means interposed between said friction elements and the adjacent ends of said coil springs, actu:- ate-d by the friction elements upon movement of the latter inwardly of the shell, said means compressing one coil only of each set a limited distance and thereafter all of the nested coils. f

2, In a friction shock absorbing mechanism, the combination with a friction shell;

`of inner and outer nested coils initially for of wedge friction elements cooperable with said shell; a main spring resistance comprising twin arranged springs, each spring including outer and inner nested coils; and means, interposed between said friction elements and the adjacent ends of the springs,

actuated by the friction elements upon movement of the latter relatively to the shell, said means compressingone coil of each set of the nested coils initially for a limited distance and thereafter all of the outer and-1` inner nested coils.

3. In a friction shock absorbing mechanism` the combination with a friction shell; of wedge friction elements cooperable with the shell.; a main spring resistance including a pair of outer andyinnerl nested coils, the inner coil being lighter than the outer coil; and means,,interposed between said friction elements and the vadjacent ends of said coil springs, said means being actuated. bythe friction elements upon movement kof the latterl relatively to the shell, said means compressing the inner coil 'only initially 4for a limited distance and thereafter both coils simult aneously. i

4. In a friction shock absorbing mechanism, the combinationwith africtio'n shell; of wedge friction elements-'cooperable with the shell; a main spring resistance compris-` ing twin arranged springs, each lof said springs comprising outer and inner nested coils; and means interposed between said friction elements and the adjacent ends of said twin arranged springs actuated by the friction elements upon movement of the latter relativeljT to the shell, said means compressing the yinner coils only initially for a limited distance and thereafter all of the `coils simultaneously.

5. In a friction shock absorbing mechanism, the combination with a follower acting casing; of a friction shell; wedge friction elements cooperable with the shell; a main spring resistance including nested inner and outer coils, each of said coils having one end abutting the rear wall of said casing; and means interposed between said fric-` tion elements and the adjacent opposite ends of said coilsprings, actuated by the friction said shell; a. main spring resistance comnism, the combination with a friction shell;

of wedge friction elements cooperable with the shell; a main spring resist-ance including ter relatively'to theshell, said means cornpressing thev inner coil onlyginitia'lly-for a ylimited distancefand 'thereafter both vcoils simultaneously, said means including n two spring followers normally separated,- the follower nearest.4 the friction elements directly c engaging `theinner `coil only and the follower `farthest-from the VfrictionV elements engaging directly the outer coil only.

8. In a friction shock absorbing mechanism, the combination with a casting having',

a friction shell proper and a springcage integrally formed; of wedge friction elementsl cooperable with said shell; a mainr spring resistancewithin the cage proper, said mainv spring resistance comprising an outer coil and an inner nested lighter coil; a lpair of Y normally separated spring followersinterposed between said friction elements and the adjacent ends of spring coils, one of said followers having direct engagement with the inner coil only and the other with the outer coil only; and a spring interposed betweenone of said followers and some of the friction elements.

9. In a friction shock absorbing mechai nisrn, the combination with a casting havingv a friction shell and spring cageintegrally formed, said casting being provided with shoulders adjacent the friction shell; twin arranged springs within the spring cage,

each of said springs comprising an outerlimited amount of relative movement therey between; and wedge friction elements cooperable .with said shell.

10. In a friction shock absorbing mechanism, the combination with a casting having a friction shell and spring cage integrally n formed, said casting being provided with `longitudinally offset sets of springfollower shoulders adjacent the friction shell, twin arranged springs within the spring cage, each of said springs comprising an outer coil and an inner nested coil; a spring follower having direct engagement ywith the outer coils only and normallyengaging one set of said shoulders; a second spring follower directly engaging the innerV coils only and normally engaging' the other set of saidv shoulders, said spring vfollowers having` a limited amount of relative movement there- 10o longitudinally offset sets of spring follower` between; and wedge friction elements coopyarable with said shell, the spring follower engaging with the inner coils being located nearer the friction elements than the other spring follower.

ll. In a friction shock absorbing mechanism7 the combination with a friction shell; of Wedge friction elements cooperable with the shell; a main spring resistance including an outer coil and an inner coil arranged in nested relation; and pressure transmitting means interposed between said friction elements and the adjacent ends of said coil 

